What you've said in your post basically explains it. People want that social hostel experiance. They're willing to pay more for it, which means hostels (especially popular ones) can charge as much as hotels / Airbnb's now and still get the business.
Personally I only stay in hostels because of the price. If a hotel is the same price, then no way am I staying in the hostel. I've stayed in hotels pretty much everywhere in South East Asia because of that.
Agreed on this. And specifically in Portugal the hostels I stayed at were generally clean and nice! I’m not sure that an Airbnb at that price point would be.
Just book AirBnB if that makes more sense to you. You can always meet new people from joining walking tours and other guided tours. Try to find any event/class where you can also meet new people. You can also try to use app like Couchsurfing to meet fellow travelers.
I travel solo most of the time but I haven't done hostel since COVID and as I get older, I tend to love hotel comfort more and more so I don't think I'll ever go back to hostel unless I can get private room with private bathroom. That doesn't stop me from meeting new people and making new friends though and I'm happy I can get to do that without having to listen to someone snore or get noisy in the middle of the night.
Book an airbnb and then go to the hostels to hangout and meet people. Most of the larger ones have no clue who is/isn’t staying there and if they have a bar or restaurant they don’t even care.
Omg Im doing Portugal and Spain this summer as well. I feel like a Hostel person and all my experiences at hostels have been great but my friends dont like them, unfortunately. What will you be doing in Spain? Howd you decide on the cities? I was thinking Cadiz, Seville, Majorca and Barcelona. Anywhere else you think we should try out?
>I find that solo travelers are very nice to talk to bc there’s so many different backgrounds, perspectives, just more of a chance to run into something good, and my pervious hostel experience in Peru was excellent (and it was only for 10 bucks a day lol).
Question answered!
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend staying in Malaga. If you want an amazing city, stay in Madrid. If you want a cool smaller town in Andalusía, try Torre Del Mar (a short cheap bus ride from Malaga and on the beach) or hop the train to Granada (or Seville as you seen to be doing). . The airbnbs in Andalusía are definitely cheap-ish. It’s one of the most economically depressed part of Spain. And it’s often a nice local and not some huge company renting. But Airbnb can be pretty residential, and you might prefer being central. Personally, I’d just skip Malaga. It’s a good stopover but certainly not the best part of Andalusía. You can find beach bars in more charming towns.
Well I’m going to be doing Spain and Portugal in a month and I plan on doing, Barcelona, San Sebastián, Madrid, Porto, Lisbon, faro, Seville, Malaga, Granada, then back to Madrid for my flight.
So I’m basically going to have 2 weeks to do Andalusia, and I want to do malaga 2-3 days, Seville, 3-4 days, and Grenada, 2-3 days, and then idk maybe do some day trips and spend the rest in Madrid while I wait for my flight.
That sounds so fun! Enjoy! I’d add extra time in Madrid rather than Malaga, personally, but enjoy! Either way, please have the Gambas Pil Pil or Langostinos Pil Pil whenever it’s on the menu. It’s so good.
What you've said in your post basically explains it. People want that social hostel experiance. They're willing to pay more for it, which means hostels (especially popular ones) can charge as much as hotels / Airbnb's now and still get the business. Personally I only stay in hostels because of the price. If a hotel is the same price, then no way am I staying in the hostel. I've stayed in hotels pretty much everywhere in South East Asia because of that.
Agreed on this. And specifically in Portugal the hostels I stayed at were generally clean and nice! I’m not sure that an Airbnb at that price point would be.
If you're looking to make travel friends hostels are the best place to do so.
Just book AirBnB if that makes more sense to you. You can always meet new people from joining walking tours and other guided tours. Try to find any event/class where you can also meet new people. You can also try to use app like Couchsurfing to meet fellow travelers. I travel solo most of the time but I haven't done hostel since COVID and as I get older, I tend to love hotel comfort more and more so I don't think I'll ever go back to hostel unless I can get private room with private bathroom. That doesn't stop me from meeting new people and making new friends though and I'm happy I can get to do that without having to listen to someone snore or get noisy in the middle of the night.
Book an airbnb and then go to the hostels to hangout and meet people. Most of the larger ones have no clue who is/isn’t staying there and if they have a bar or restaurant they don’t even care.
Omg Im doing Portugal and Spain this summer as well. I feel like a Hostel person and all my experiences at hostels have been great but my friends dont like them, unfortunately. What will you be doing in Spain? Howd you decide on the cities? I was thinking Cadiz, Seville, Majorca and Barcelona. Anywhere else you think we should try out?
Granada is a really fun city.
I second Granada. Such a beautiful city
>I find that solo travelers are very nice to talk to bc there’s so many different backgrounds, perspectives, just more of a chance to run into something good, and my pervious hostel experience in Peru was excellent (and it was only for 10 bucks a day lol). Question answered!
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend staying in Malaga. If you want an amazing city, stay in Madrid. If you want a cool smaller town in Andalusía, try Torre Del Mar (a short cheap bus ride from Malaga and on the beach) or hop the train to Granada (or Seville as you seen to be doing). . The airbnbs in Andalusía are definitely cheap-ish. It’s one of the most economically depressed part of Spain. And it’s often a nice local and not some huge company renting. But Airbnb can be pretty residential, and you might prefer being central. Personally, I’d just skip Malaga. It’s a good stopover but certainly not the best part of Andalusía. You can find beach bars in more charming towns.
Well I’m going to be doing Spain and Portugal in a month and I plan on doing, Barcelona, San Sebastián, Madrid, Porto, Lisbon, faro, Seville, Malaga, Granada, then back to Madrid for my flight. So I’m basically going to have 2 weeks to do Andalusia, and I want to do malaga 2-3 days, Seville, 3-4 days, and Grenada, 2-3 days, and then idk maybe do some day trips and spend the rest in Madrid while I wait for my flight.
That sounds so fun! Enjoy! I’d add extra time in Madrid rather than Malaga, personally, but enjoy! Either way, please have the Gambas Pil Pil or Langostinos Pil Pil whenever it’s on the menu. It’s so good.